COURSE NUMBER: MBA292N.1
COURSE TITLE: Large-Scale Social Change
UNITS OF CREDIT: 2
INSTRUCTOR: Nora Silver
E-MAIL ADDRESS: silver@haas.berkeley.edu
PREREQUISITE(S): None
CLASS FORMAT: The class explores
significant social change movements through written cases, articles, portions
of books, films, podcasts, featured guests and more.
REQUIRED READINGS: Readings will take the form of written
cases, featured guests, portions of books, films, articles, podcasts, and more,
and will be available on bCourses.
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE (The final grade will be based on class
attendance and participation (40%), an individual paper analyzing a social
movement (20%), a group project designing a social movements (30%), and an
individual reflection paper (10%).
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES: Haas students
have repeatedly demonstrated their desire for opportunities to engage in
healthy discussions about meaningful social issues. There has been a growing
need for a class that provides the frameworks and tools necessary to usher in
positive, large-scale social change. History is packed with examples of this
social change in action, from Indian independence to marriage equality. Behind
many of these advancements lies a social movement: collective action by
ordinary people working outside existing institutional frameworks toward a
common goal, with the intent to disrupt the status quo. Graduate students
interested in creating large-scale impact often take courses on leading and
managing individual institutions. Yet much large-scale social change occurs
extra-institutionally, beyond the purview of individual businesses,
governments, and social sector organizations. In this course, we will move beyond
the walls of traditional institutions and society, building an understanding of
the key levers available to those seeking to create major social change: Rising
business leaders also have much to learn from social movements. As the line
between businesses and social movements continues to blur, leaders from each
sphere will increasingly stand to learn from one another. This course will teach
all of us to think big, look beyond traditional institutional change, and challenge
ourselves as we learn to apply different levers to myriad issues and
constituencies. It will help us appreciate and understand how movements around
the world have mobilized and, crucially, how we might contribute to large-scale
social change in our future.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Nora Silver is Adjunct Professor and
Director of the Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership at Haas. She brings
over 30 years of leadership experience as a two-time social sector founder,
executive director, board member, and funder of social sector organizations.
She has consulted internationally with more than 200 organizations, authored
books and articles on leadership and community involvement, and lectured at
universities and conferences around the world.